The present invention relates to a housing and a method of producing a housing.
A housing of this kind and a method for producing it are known heretofore per, for example, German Published Patent Application No. 196 26 084. The housing for a pressure sensor chip described in that document has a housing base part made of plastic having an opening which, once the sensor component has been inserted, is closed off via a lid part that is embodied as a connector element. The lid part has a resilient projection which locks into a groove that is provided on the housing base part.
Furthermore, in the related art many different types of housing for electrical and/or electronic components having a lid part made of plastic or metal which is adhesively bonded to or clipped onto a housing made of plastic are known heretofore.
The housing according to the present invention has the advantage that the lid part is produced in a straightforward and very inexpensive manner as a punched component made of a metal sheet, and is attached to the plastic housing part in a straightforward manner so that it cannot be lost. The lid part has at its edgexe2x80x94which is produced via the punch processxe2x80x94a punch ridge on the first side and a punch indentation on a second side that is opposite the first side. Thanks to the rounded edge contour, the punch indentation on the second side of the lid part functions advantageously to facilitate sliding or insertion when the lid part is pressed into the opening of a housing part. The punch ridge, which is on the first side of the lid part opposite the punch indentation, advantageously bites into the inner wall of the opening in a barb-like manner, so that the lid part is fixed in place in the housing part so that it cannot be lost. Thus it is advantageous that there is no need for stop lugs, clip attachments or adhesive bonding attachment. The lid part may be given different contours via punching, and may be given different shapes via stamping or drawing. A minimum of space is required on the housing part to fix the lid part in place, as adhesive-bonding attachments, clip attachments or other attachment elements are not required.
In order to ensure that the lid part is reliably fixed in place in the opening of the housing part, the distance between at least two edge sections distributed around the perimeter of the lid part is slightly greater than the distance between the respective sections of the inner wall of the opening, so that the edge sections exert lateral pressure on the inner walls, and the sharp-edged punch ridge of the lid part bites reliably into the relatively soft inner walls, which are made of plastic.
Furthermore, it is advantageous if the housing wall that delimits the opening has elastically flexible areas having reduced wall thickness, into the inner sides of which the edge sections of the lid part having the punch ridge can bite in a barb-like manner. As a result, the load that needs to be applied when pressing in the lid part is reduced in an advantageous manner.
When the lid part is pressed in, it advantageously comes to rest on a shoulder that is provided on the inside of the housing of the housing part.
Furthermore it is advantageous if an adhesive or sealant which seals off the housing and reliably reduces penetration by moisture or harmful gases is applied all around the outer edge area of the first side of the lid part and to a part of the inner wall of the opening that extends beyond the first side of the lid part.
Furthermore, a method for producing a housing, in which a housing part made of plastic and having an opening is closed off by a lid part, and in which the lid part is produced by punching from a metal sheet, the edge of the lid part having a punch ridge on the first side of the lid part and a punch indentation on the second side opposite the first side, the lid part then being pressed into the opening of the housing part via the second side, the lid part thus coming to rest against the respective sections of the inner wall of the opening via at least two edge sections distributed around the perimeter of the lid part, and the punch ridge biting in there in a barb-like manner, is advantageous. The method may be carried out in a fully automated manner, and makes it feasible to close off a plastic housing in a straightforward manner so that the lid cannot be lost, no additional process steps being necessary.